Getting the engine to fire up when your legs aint long enough

[a101960]

I am a bit of a short idiot, and not infrequently I have trouble starting my bike because of that. I will explain what I mean by that. If I can park so that I can position my left foot on a raised kerb for example then I have no problem delivering a nice hefty swing that gets the engine going. It is a different matter if I am on level ground though. I cannot  always get enough power to kick the starter pedal down smartly enough to fire up the engine, and it can take more than a few attempts because I have to sort of hop and jump. The trouble is the bike is not very steady when I have to resort to doing this and I am often on the verge of dropping it. Does anyone else have this problem, and if so how do you deal with it?

[Billybream]

Always easier off the centre stand if one is fitted.

[Clive54bsa]

I'm 5' 10" and have never been able to start either of my A10's whilst straddling the bike with the stand up.
If I stall the motor at a traffic light (especially with a passenger on the back) I have to push the bike to the curb, put it on the main stand and restart with no problem. I've done that for over 20 years. The odd thing is My B50MX I can only start while straddling, it has no main stand, but I can't seem to get it started on the side stand.
This is why I've often longed for one of Steve McFarlane's electric start conversions for my super Rocket.
http://www.startyourbsa.com/

[a101960]

Always easier off the centre stand if one is fitted.

No, I do not have a centre stand.

This is why I've often longed for one of Steve McFarlane's electric start conversions for my super Rocket.

Yeah, me too. Going back several years now, I did order one, but for various reasons the delivery date kept getting put back, so in the end I just lost all interest in it and gave up on trying to buy one. I don't know what delivery is like now but in those days it was hopeless. It is a good product, no doubt about that, but I just ran out of patience and enthusiasm.

[Greybeard]

You could buy a Plunger model; they are lower.

[duTch]

 Time to dig out the platform shoes  ....how about standing beside the bike (RHS) ?

[muskrat]

I too have ducks disease so use the side stand to steady the bike. Try not to put too much weight on the side stand. It can get ugly if it slips at half stroke of the starter.
Cheers